The Dash To Dumb - An Outstanding Effort At CBS

Declan Mccullagh, blogging at CBS News, decides to just stop making sense and start smiting right-wing bloggers.  Shorter Declan:  I'm too lazy to establish the facts myself but right wing bloggers who rely on the NY Times are lazy and don't have the facts.

He leads with a falsehood:

It seemed to be a perfect example of a tasteless political fib: Michelle Obama invoking a heart-wrenching but untrue story about her daughter Sasha's medical woes.

What?  His links include the Jammie Wearing Fool, who is credited with starting this story last Sept 18.  Did the Jammie Fool say Michelle was lying?  Noooo, he said that, given the reported discrepancy between the stories told by Barack and Michelle, one of them must be lying.  Clues included his post title:

Tale of Two Obamas: Who's Telling the Truth About Sasha's Meningitis?

The basis of the Jammie Fool's claim was a perfectly clear statement by NY Times reporter Jeff Zeleney describing the speech (my emphasis):

In her speech, Mrs. Obama also told the story of how her daughter Sasha would not stop crying when she was 4 months old. A doctor’s visit revealed she might have meningitis; she ultimately did not, but the illness produced a scare.

In her speech Ms. Obama is ambiguous about Sasha's final diagnosis.  Could this just be an accident of speechwriting, or is it ever so slightly possible that White House wordsmiths chose to dance around the truth in order to avoid directly contradicting her husband, who has declared repeatedly (March, July, Sept) that Sasha did have meningitis? 

Is it ever so slightly possible that Jeff Zeleney, as a big time reporter for a big deal newspaper, actually got some clarification from the White House Press office before publishing?  When reporters followed up last March the White House was clueless, but perhaps they are up to speed now, since it appears that Sasha is going to be a recurring prop during the health care debate:

The White House could not confirm Friday [Mar 28 2009] which type of meningitis Sasha developed or other details about the illness.

Well - Mr. Mccullagh is also at a big time news organization and on the same side of the aisle as Jeff Zeleney.  Three weeks have passed - how did Mr. Zeleney respond to Mr. Mccullagh's requests for clarification or justification for Zeleney's reporting?  I haven't noticed a correction in the Times - are they standing by Zeleney's "reporting", or did he just fail to clean the wax out while pretending to listen to Ms. Obama's speech?  Incredibly, I don't notice any coverage of this point by Mr. Mccullagh, either - is it possible that he never contacted Zeleney? [Per the Jammie Fool, Mccullagh only quoted the Zeleney passage in an an undeclared revision to his article about other people's honesty and accuracy).

Well, then, after Mr. Mccullagh contacted the White House for clarification, how did they describe Sasha's medical situation?  That seemingly critical detail seems to be missing from his story, too.  Please tell me he contacted the White House - Mccullagh knows Zeleny is wrong, he knows the right wing bloggers who put their trust in a Timesman are wrong, but how does he know it - surely he is not relying exclusively on a vague statement made by Michell that does not contradict her husband?

Mccullagh closes with this exhortation:

Perhaps it's a simple tendency to assume the worst of their political enemies, but whatever the case, the meningitis interlude isn't exactly an example of how online political commentators are trying to seek out the truth. Rather, it shows that even today, a lie can get halfway around the blogosphere before the truth has a chance to turn on, boot up, and log in.

What is the truth and why does Mccullagh think he knows it?

IF I HAD TO BET:  A week after the Times coverage the Anderson book about Michelle and Barack came out.  No one seems to care that Ayers was a major contributor to "Dreams of My Unrepentant Weatherman", but Anderson did mention this about Sasha:

The author maintains that it was only the fact that their younger daughter, Natasha, always known as Sasha, contracted meningitis aged three months, in September 2001, that brought the couple to their senses and convinced them that they should stay together.

Sasha was rushed into hospital and diagnosed with meningitis. Obama and his wife spent the next 72 hours taking turns to sleep by their daughter's cot while she battled a virus that can be fatal for babies.

I think it is possible that Barack was wrong about Sasha's diagnosis, Michelle was deliberately vague (Mr. Family Guy looks somewhat dreadful if he is wrong about his daughter's disease that he is exploiting), and Zeleney printed the actual facts, presumably after requesting clarification.  That said, whatever Sasha did or did not have, two days of testing in a hospital had to be scary for the parents and upsetting for the child, and Barack Obama's point about the importance of nurses would stand.

I think it is more probable that Barack was specific and correct about Sasha's meningitis, Michelle was accidentally vague, and Zeleney was confused.

But for Mccullagh to turn that into a story about sloppy right wing bloggers and lecture people about "truth" without making any effort to establish the truth is not merely absurd; he is also potentially turning his back on a good story.  Sorry, call it an interesting story - for CBS, a story that makes Obama look silly is no good at all.

THINGS TO WATCH FOR:  I have no doubt Andrew Sullivan explained endlessly why Ms. Palin needs to release her birth records post-haste; now we can wait for him to demand the release of Sasha's hospital stay to get to the truth of this Presidential prop.  And wait.  And wait.

Comments

[JM Hanes]

I think Barack being simultaneously specific and correct is counterfactual.

[steve sturm]

Having had meningitis, I'm pretty confident that there ought to be no confusion or faulty memories about having it and no confusion about whether it is viral or bacterial... patients (is it different for babies?) get a needle stuck in their spine (something one doesn't easily forget, whether the needle is going into your spine or the spine of your four month old daughter) and the lab report comes back either (A) no meningitis or (B) yes, meningitis, and if (B), that is either viral or bacterial. If the result is viral, there's relief that it wasn't bacterial, again, something that isn't easily forgotten. And if it was bacterial, it is a lot more serious for the patient, something that makes parents really freak out and (I believe) accompanied by testing of people coming into contact with the patient (at least it was on House), again, all things that aren't easily forgotten, even when one is laying the groundwork for a in-the-future presidential campaign.

Given this, I can't draw any conclusion other than (1) the kid didn't have meningitis (if she did, both parents would have definitely mentioned this in the affirmative), and (2) at least one of her parents was exaggerating for effect, ala John Edwards, Al Gore, etc., etc. You know, all's fair when trying to pass legislation that they know is for our own good...

[Jim Ryan]

TM, are you saying you're a meningitiser? Or only that meningitisers have made some good points?

[peter]

"....that brought the couple to their senses and convinced them that they should stay together"

I had never heard this before ( and I spend far too much time reading about the First Family.) There was a time when the Obama's marriage was in jeopardy?

I am intrigued.

[Porchlight]

It's standard practice for infants with very high temperatures to be tested for meningitis, which usually involves a spinal tap. So standard in fact that many pediatricians warn parents what to expect when they take a child with a high fever to the emergency room - that they may not be home for a couple of days. So my guess is that Sasha didn't have it, but they spent a couple of worrisome days in the hospital nonetheless.

Additional note - this has happened to two couples I know. In neither case did the child have meningitis. One couple said the experience was not a huge deal, because they were advised from the get go that it was standard procedure and the likelihood wasn't high. The other couple is much more dramatic as a rule and, unsurprisingly, made a much bigger deal about it.

So, does either Obama have a history of magnifying personal experience for desired effect? Hmmmm....

[Gregory Koster]

Peter, it happened right after The Once lost his quest to get nominated as a federal Representative. What good is he if doesn't deliver what Rolo thinks she's entitled to?

[MayBee]

If Obama is going to use his personal stories to push public policy, rather than actually develop the policy, it should be absolutely fair game to question his stories.

He uses his mother's insurance struggles too, even though I'm uncertain how many details he knew about his mom's life at that time.

[GrumpyUnk]

I get the feeling that Mccullagh could care less about the facts in this case and is simply Prepping the Battle space for future conflict. Bloggers pose a growing threat to the established media and the administration. Look no further than the new regulatory czar and his fairness ideas to see what Mccullagh is up to.

[Fresh Air]

MAJOR DEVELOPMENT:

AYERS CONFESSES TO WRITING DREAMS

Note: The blogger with whom Ayers spoke is not a crank. I don't know her, but she is well-known to others in the Chicago conservative community.

[clarice]

Andrew's too busy writing up stuff about his once 12 hours of passion (via Kaus) to be bothered with this petty stuff, TM. Consider it a warning in case you decided to check to see if he was saying anything about this. Too much info again, Sully, and not on anything any sentient person gives a carp about.

[Neo]

Summary:
CBS's Declan Mccullagh indicts a conservative blogger for believing Jeff Zeleny's story in the New York Times.

[Neo]

Using this technique, I wonder who they could blame for the "fake but accurate" Bush National Guard memos.

[Neo]

It occurred to me that the proper extension of this story is to blame readers who find errors in stories for even bothering to read them.

[Viremia means the bug is everywhere the blood goes, which is everywhere..]

You know, folks, the headache associated with any virus is a meningeal one, hence a meningitis. This whole blow-up is because of a misunderstanding between the commonly understood meaning of 'meningitis' and the jargon meaning of it, as a term of art. We've all had 'meningitis'.

I'll bet the Obamas don't understand it, and certainly all those reporting on their use of these terms don't.
=====================================

[Charlie (Colorado)]

I think Barack being simultaneously specific and correct is counterfactual.

I don't know, extremely improbable by the product law, but not counterfactual.

It would require actual thinking about what he's saying to manage to be purposefully wrong.

[Terry Gain]

I don't understand the reason for Mccullah's anxiety. It's not as if someone made fun of Obama in a comedy sketch.

[Terry Gain]

I don't understand the reason for Mccullah's anxiety. It's not as if someone made fun of Obama in a comedy sketch.

[Mad Monica]

I don't mind politicians using personal stories once in a while. It lets you know there might be a real person under the facade. The problem I have with the Obamas is they spend a LOT of time leaning on their personal stories as a way to manipulate the listener. And in the end, one finds more often than not, there's some sort of inaccuracy, fib or out and out untruth in the story. That makes me look upon anything else they say, on the personal or professional level, with skepticism. Of course, I do that anyway with these two...

I have to admit, however, I dislike the Obamas using their daughters to score points for this and that and then claiming they're off limits. No one else is allowed to trot their children out for photo ops, etc., then demand the children be off limits. Hell, look at what the vultures in the media did to the Palin kids. But I forgot. When you're an Obama the media does what you want, no matter what.

Which makes inaccuracies in the New York Times seem less "mistakes" than "deliberate untruths." See, one happens on accident. The other happens when one is trying to change the tone or context of a story to give the reader a false impression. But then isn't that what the NYT does for the Obamas on a daily basis?

[Captain Hate]

I just want to know how many poor people with meningitis Michelle shooed from the hospital where she was very gainfully employed.

[Terry Gain]

Fresh Air @5:11 PM

Very interesting but then I imagined Steve Hayward PhD issuing the following statement:

My God you bookers are going to be the death of the GOP. Do you really think for one minute that if Obama didn't write Dreams that Hillary Clinton wouldn't have discovered that?

The evidence that Obama wrote Dreams is overwhelming. I've read the book. His name is on it for goodness sakes. I've talked to the publisher. They issued a cheque to Obama, not Bill Ayers or anyone else.

Do you wingnuts understand how many people would have to be involved in a conspiracy of this magnitude? This kind of paranoia is destroying the Republican Party.

[Terry Gain]

Fresh Air @5:11 PM

Very interesting but then I imagined Steve Hayward PhD issuing the following statement:

My God you bookers are going to be the death of the GOP. Do you really think for one minute that if Obama didn't write Dreams that Hillary Clinton wouldn't have discovered that?

The evidence that Obama wrote Dreams is overwhelming. I've read the book. His name is on it for goodness sakes. I've talked to the publisher. They issued a cheque to Obama, not Bill Ayers or anyone else.

Do you wingnuts understand how many people would have to be involved in a conspiracy of this magnitude? This kind of paranoia is destroying the Republican Party.

[Terry Gain]

For some reason my comments are being posted twice. I apologize for both of them.

[Cecil Turner]

CBS's Declan Mccullagh indicts a conservative blogger for believing Jeff Zeleny's story in the New York Times.

Exactly. Typical journo-dunce, trying to dis bloggers for improper vetting, only to find out the blogger is quoting the "Paper of Record" the journos regard as holy writ. Self-parody at its best.

[PeterUK]

Why don't you imprison Andy for drug abuse,keep him and a couple of hundred lonely inmates happy.

[Captain Hate]

I'm not seeing any downside to that at all PUK.

[BB Key]

Natasha?

As in Boris & Natasha.

Mo & Bo thought the Russians were the heroes ?

What about the squirrel and the moose?

[boris]

Squirrel stew ... well actually only half squirrel ... one squirrel one moose.